About FirePony Creative Society

Founded as Playa del Fuego, Inc. in 2002, FirePony Creative Society* is a Maryland based 501(c)3 nonprofit. We strive to attract, inspire, and nurture a diverse community to celebrate and encourage experiments in the creation of art, a culture of play, and the collective sharing of ideas and skills. We do this by building an interactive, experiential, sustainable environment that encourages a culture of play, artistic creativity and freedom of expression.

Our first event was held on the beach of Assateague Island on Maryland’s coast in 1998, long before the organization was officially founded. About 20 East Coast residents, many who who had been to the original Burning Man in the Nevada desert, decided that they wanted to bring some of the energy and creativity experienced on the dried lake bed of Nevada (the playa) to the beaches of Maryland. Playa Del Fuego quickly outgrew its original site, and was moved to a horse farm run by Vietnam Veterans in Delaware, where it remained until 2017, hosting events each year on Memorial Day and Columbus Day weekends.

In the Fall of 2017, Playa del Fuego, Inc. launched a second event, Constellation, in Elkins, West Virginia. This event replaced Fall Playa del Fuego, and expanded the reach of our community to Appalachia. In the Spring of 2018, Playa del Fuego moved from Delaware to its new home in Tamaqua, Pennsylvania.

In addition to our multi-day Regional Burns, FirePony Creative Society has helped produce two Mid-Atlantic Leadership Conferences for the Burning Man community, bringing together event and community leaders from around the region to share and learn from one another. We also provide community art and civic engagement grants to those who strive to bring creativity to their local communities.

The FirePony Creative Society community is created by volunteers working together utilizing the Ten Principles of Burning Man as our guide. At our events, and throughout the year, members of the community collaborates to create experiences which promote radical self-expression, acceptance, inclusivity, and respect. This is a sincere experiment of a gift economy.